Survivor: Blood Vs. Water was an emotional experience for Kat Edorsson right before her elimination. The two-time castaway didn’t want to leave the game and her boyfriend, Hayden Moss, behind. But if it weren’t for a last-minute job opportunity for one of Kat’s other loved ones, Hayden never would have played this season. Find out who was actually supposed to compete with Kat inside our one-on-one chat about her time on the show.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: I think a lot of fans were expecting to see you competing with your cousin who visited you during the loved ones challenge on Survivor: One World. You know, the guy you crawled over to.

Kat Edorsson: Rob was actually supposed to play, but he got a really good job with Goodyear and he wasn’t able to play. The reason why Hayden is playing is because Rob couldn’t play.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Which elimination stung worse? Getting voted out of One World or being booted this time around?

Kat Edorsson: One World’s elimination, I was more shocked and devastated. Imagine like five people that were equivalent to how much I care about Hayden in one. I was more devastated in One World. But in Survivor: Blood Vs. Water, I felt like I really let Hayden down from a girlfriend’s point of view. I just felt like, “Dang it. Who wants to date someone who doesn’t make the merge?” I kind of was disappointed in myself. But the first day I was playing I knew there was a target on my back. The first few days Colton was playing, he was making it look like I had to go home. It wasn’t a shock to me that I was always a target. But on Survivor: One World, I should have at least made final three in that one, come on.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: When you watch the show back at home, how do you react when you hear your tribemates say in confessionals that you’re clueless and not really in the alliances that you think you are?

Kat Edorsson: They think they’re in an alliance that they’re really not in. I just went home because it was bad luck of the draw. Survivor is a lot about luck. I guarantee that if I was on a different side of the tribe, I probably wouldn’t have been eliminated. If Monica would have known that Vytas is the reason her husband went home, I’m damn sure she wouldn’t have tried to eliminate me. My first season, the luck was on my side. The second season, it wasn’t. There was a lot of people I really couldn’t communicate with. Everybody was mothers on my tribe. On One World, we were all 20 years old, you know. We all were living the same life. It was a lot different from this season to my past season. I will say that it was just a lot harder this season than I ever expected it to be.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: What made it more difficult?

Kat Edorsson: Hello! My man was there!

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Would you have ever voted against Hayden had you two made the merge together?

Kat Edorsson: Absolutely. If I made it to final three, I would need him as my vote. Do you think I’m going to go against Hayden Moss at the final two?!?! Are you nuts?!?! Don’t tell him I said that, though. He’s the love of my life. What I would do to be with him for the rest of my life. Hayden says to me all the time that he would never write my name down. When I first went into the game there was a part of me wondering what would that mean of me if I ever eliminated my own boyfriend? What does that make me? There’s a part of me that wanted to if it ever came down to it because I wanted to win. Could I honestly win against Hayden? No! So when he asked me who would do better long-term in this game, it was always Hayden. Do I think I would win Survivor in a different scenario? Yeah! Absolutely! I always give myself a chance. With this particular game, going against Hayden is just a death sentence.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Did you think Hayden was going to switch spots with you at Redemption Island?

Kat Edorsson: No. The only time I felt that way is when I saw what I was doing. Did you see that puzzle last night?!?!?! Come on! Preach. Preach to me. Tell me how much that sucked. That was awful. How was I supposed to do that? I went to Jeff and I was like, “Are you for real right now? Are we really going to do this puzzle? You know long it’s gonna take me to do this?” He’s like, “Kat, do you want me to throw your buff in the urn right now?” So that’s why I said, “Hayden come down here and switch with me.” If there was any other scenario, I probably would have been able to work it out and kill it. Right when we saw the challenge we were doing, Hayden knew that it was devastating because that puzzle was really hard — and I’m not that good at puzzles.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: How did you and Hayden actually meet?

Kat Edorsson: Hayden and I actually met two years ago. We met at a reality event. It was me and all the One World girls. Hayden just saw us. We were these single girls. It was the night we got to meet and raise money for Give Kids the World. It was a really good experience. We have been inseparable ever since. … We’re pretty intense as a couple when it comes to challenges. We’re a great pair.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Any talk of marriage?

Kat Edorsson: Come on! You’re killing me! You’re killing me today! (Laughs) I live in Florida, he lives in Dallas. We have been dating a little bit less than a year. We just started saying “I love you” to each other. We just became official in December and we played the game in May. As of right now, where we’re going, I don’t see anybody else I would want to spend the rest of my life with. I think Hayden feels the same way about me, but we’re still not living in the same state. If I can get Hayden to win Survivor, we can talk about the same state. Hopefully he does well and hopefully he brings the money to his girlfriend (laughs).

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: How did it feel like being brought back with other One World castaways?

Kat Edorsson: I adore Monica. She’s one of my favorite people in the world. I love her. The other one (Colton), I don’t really have too much of an opinion on it. I knew it was gonna be awful. I had to try and be as peaceful about the entire situation. I felt bad for him in a sense where I wish we were able to just get along, but for some reason, he just didn’t want to.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Who do you think does not deserve to go any deeper in the game?

Kat Edorsson: Oh, come on! There’s family out there. I don’t want to say that. I mean, if I were to say who doesn’t deserve… that’s tough. That’s tough. Ummm. Cierra is really getting that luck card that I got last season. She’s really pulling it out because she keeps flying past all the votes. I think that’s good. I think Katie slid by that one when she got her mom on the tribe. It’s just a lot of luck on Survivor.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: What else should we know about your experience?

Kat Edorsson: Don’t lie to a Culpepper. If you get caught in a lie, freakin’ tell the truth. It’s not worth it.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Since today is Halloween, what is your costume this year?

Kat Edorsson: Me and Hayden are going to be matching bumblebees.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: Doing anything special?

Kat Edorsson: If you know where to go, let us know because we’re trying to go somewhere.

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine.com: What’s your favorite scary movie?

Kat Edorsson: Oh, come on. I just watched “Scream” the other day. I would say “Scream.” It’s my favorite movie that is scary.

What are your thoughts on Kat? Do you think she could ever win the game? Would you ever like to see her play again? Are you happy she competed with Hayden instead of her cousin? Sound off and leave a comment below!

3 Responses to “Survivor: Blood Vs. Water Exclusive Interview — Kat Edorsson Was Initially Casted With A Different Loved One”

I absolutely love Kat! I loved her in one world and I love her now- I think she’s a lot smarter than the edits give her credit. I also have always loved big brother and Hayden is definitely my pick to win

I definitely think she could win- it’s like she said, luck plays a crucial role. It’s a shame that her and Hayden couldn’t play together because they’re adorable!! But it was right for him not to switch. Either way Kat definitely deserves more credit; this season people seem to love Monica but if you remember her on one world she really didn’t do much. Kat has always played the game- the only thing is that she needs to stay quieter.